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Writing the Australian Landscape - Our Supporters

Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust

The Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust is a generous bequest, made to the Library by Eva Kollsman in honour of her friend, the Australian playwright and poet Ray Mathew, to support and promote Australian writing. Eva Kollsman’s extraordinary legacy has already enabled the National Library to support this country’s writing community and to bring to light some of Ray Mathew’s unknown work. In 2007, the Library published Tense Little Lives: The Uncollected Prose of Ray Mathew, edited and introduced by Thomas Shapcott. Professor Shapcott took up a Harold White Fellowship in 2005 to research the Ray Mathew Papers.

The Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust funded a major project to make the papers of Australian writers more accessible to researchers through the preparation of new online guides. Using these funds, our Manuscripts staff have compiled detailed guides to the papers of Ray Mathew, Kylie Tennant, David Williamson, Judith Wright, A D Hope, Dorothy Hewett, and the corporate records of one of Australia’s oldest and best-known literary agencies, Curtis Brown, which the Library acquired in July 2007. The Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust continues to support work on high priority literary collections.

The Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust also supports the National Library’s events program, through the establishment of the annual Ray Mathew Lecture and conferences such as Writing the Australia Landscape.

Mrs Alison Sanchez

The Kenneth Binns Lecture is supported by Alison Sanchez and named in honour of her father.

Kenneth Binns joined the staff of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library in Melbourne in 1911. In 1919, he became head of the Australian section and took an active role in acquisition work, including the purchase of the Endeavour journal of James Cook in 1923. As assistant librarian, he organised the transfer of the Library to Canberra in 1926-27 and succeeded Arthur Wadsworth as Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian in 1928. During his tenure, he was hampered by financial and wartime restrictions, but acquired major collections, including the Matthews Collection and the first instalment of the Ferguson Collection.

Before his retirement in 1947, Kenneth Binns established library services in Canberra and the territories, accepted responsibility for the archives of the Commonwealth Government and established a liaison office in London. He also did much to promote the cultural and educational life of Canberra.

Through the generous support provided by his daughter, Alison, he continues to contribute to Australian cultural life through the Kenneth Binns Lecture series and to the ongoing development of Australian library services through the Kenneth Binns Travelling Fellowship available to National Library staff.

The Copyright Agency is a not for profit rights management organisation. The Copyright Agency enables the use of text and images in return for fair payment to writers, visual artists and publishers. This includes managing the Viscopy business.

The Copyright Agency Cultural Fund assists writers, artists and publishers to deliver new work and build their skills. This is part of the Copyright Agency’s commitment to improving access to and appreciation of Australian creative works. The Copyright Agency is proud to support Australian storytellers. This is the fourth time the Library’s events program has received financial support from the Cultural Fund.